Boom Baby - a play by Natalie Meisner
In the Patch, everything is measured in dollars and sense. Except… some things are priceless.
About Boom Baby
Award-winning play Boom Baby features Iona, a Nova Scotian who ventures west to work in the oilpatch. Her fragile independence is upended when she unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. She is unsettled by the pregnancy and feels all her options involve serious complications, including offering the child for adoption to an infertile couple who work in management. Can you buy a baby? The intersection of different class cultures in the energy industry meet in this potent, funny and thought-provoking play.
Feb. 28 – Mar. 08
Pumphouse Theatres
2140 Pumphouse Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3C 3P5
We are SOLD OUT!
All remaining show times for Boom Baby are sold out. We want to say thank you to our amazing cast and crew, incredible audience members, generous sponsors, dedicated funders, and our fantastic production partner, Mount Royal University!
Meet the Cast & Crew
Kendra Hutchinson is Iona
For Sage Theatre: Debut. Elsewhere (Selected): MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (Vertigo Theatre); OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, SUNNY SIDE UP, KODACHROME (Fire Exit Theatre); ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, OLIVER!, WE WON’T PAY!, LETTICE AND LOVAGE (Rosebud Theatre); RIVERONA (Full Circle Theatre). Kendra is an actor, communications professional and visual artist (@hutch_creative) here in Mo’hkintsis. After this you can catch Kendra in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING with Full Circle Theatre. Special thanks to this incredible team and forever and ever her partner John.
John McIver is Hort
John McIver is an actor, theatre technician, stunt performer and beekeeper, working in Moh’kinstsis. Aside from a few productions with the Ignite! Festival, this is his Sage Theatre debut. Some recent credits include OUTSIDE MULLINGAR with Fire Exit Theatre, C*CK with A.C.T., BRIGHT LIGHTS with Theatre Basement and RICHARD III with the Shakespeare Company. He’s worked as a stunt performer on various local productions. He’s grateful to get to be involved in the telling of this story, and grateful as always, to his partner, Kendra.
Camille Pavlenko is Brooke
Camille Pavlenko (she/her) is an actor, writer, and part-time grad student in UBC’s Creative Writing MFA program. She is a Betty Mitchell Award nominee who has performed as far abroad as Singapore. Favourite past credits include: Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson – #2B (Vertigo Theatre), The Outsider (Stage West), Noises Off (Theatre Calgary), and Blackbird (Verb Theatre). Her plays have been produced and developed across Canada, most recently: Lunchbox Theatre premiered her comedy, Go for Gold, Audrey Pham, and her adaptation of Rapunzel (with recording artist VISSIA) is currently touring elementary schools with Alberta Musical Theatre Company.
David Sklar is Owen
David Sklar is an actor/playwright who divides his time between Calgary and Montreal. He was artist-in- residence at the Jerusalem Theatre Company, Shakespeare-in-the-Rough, and assistant directed the Canadian Badland’s Passion Play in Drumheller. He has acted with Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Lunchbox, Theatre BSMT, Annerin Productions and Theatre NorthWest in B.C. He has toured across North America with the Dora Award nominated and META Award winning, Jabber, by Marcus Youssef. His play, Vial, was shortlisted for the Sharon Pollock Prize and winner of Fire Exit Theatre’s Annual New Play Competition. His voice can be heard in the recently released video game, Assassins Creed: Mirage. He also hosts the podcast, Culturally Jewish, exploring Jewish art, culture and identity in Canada. Thank you to Jason and the Sage theatre for all your support.
Spencer Streichert is Justin
Spencer Streichert is a Queer Actor & Comedian of Cree, Metis, and European ancestry from Calgary, Alberta. Spencer studied Drama at the University of Calgary and George Brown College, and has performed in professional productions across the country. As a Comedian he has performed on CBC radios After Dark Comedy, Sled island, the Los Angeles Comedy Festival, and opened for Jim Jefferies, Kenny vs. Spenny, and Amos Gill. He is also heard around the Province regularly fill-in hosting shows on CKUA radio, and his own podcast Misfits on Vinyl. Select Theatre credits: Beauty & The Beast (Storybook Theatre), Pawâkan (Akpik Theatre/Neptune Theatre), Roll for Initiative (Cloudsway Dance Theatre/Quest Theatre), Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Nights Dream (Theatre Calgary/SBTB), The Tempest (The Shakespeare Company), Animal (Alumnae Theatre). Select Film Credits: Fargo (FX), Billy the Kid (MGM+), Wynnona Earp (SyFy), Vagrant (CBC Gem), Viking (Crave).
Jason Mehmel, Director
Jason Mehmel is a writer, producer and director living in Calgary. He is the Artistic Director for Sage Theatre. His directing work includes The Orange Dot, Cantata, A Year of Magical Thinking, Legislating Love (Sage Theatre). He produces the IGNITE! Festival of Emerging Artists and mentors emerging performing artists every year.
He also works as a speaker coach, recently supporting the Haskayne Business Exchange. He is the organizer for the TEDxYYC event, and a member of the Panel One comic creator organization. He has produced and directed short films, written for animation, and in comic book both writes and edits. More details available at jasonmehmel.com
K Hall, Stage Manager, Lighting Design Assistant
K Hall is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist based in Mohkinstsis, who explores expression through many mediums, including lighting design, performing, and stage management. In stage management, he enjoys supporting the creation and growth of new works, and forming safe spaces for creativity to flourish. Recent apprentice stage manager works include Charlotte’s Web (Alberta Theatre Projects), and All I Want For Christmas, Shark Bite (Lunchbox Theatre), and they have stage managed shows such as “Ghost” Return to Mourning (Independent), and Our Canada, Our Story (Action Dignity and Arts Commons). Recent works as a lighting designer include NAPPY Season 2 (NAPPY Dance Collective), Outside Mullingar, This Random World (Fire Exit Theatre). K is excited to be stage managing and assisting on lighting design for Boom Baby, and is so grateful to be sharing this story with you!
Madeleine Taylor-Gregg, Assitant Director
Madeleine (she/her) is a queer theatre director, producer, playwright, actor, and administrator whose practice focuses on community connectivity, mutual care, and dynamic stories. She is an Artistic Partner, alongside Zoë Arthur, for Reckless Daughter Creative, a local theatre collective platforming FLINTA* (sapphic) storytelling.
Recent projects include People Who Stand With the Gods (Jupiter), The Coming Out Monologues 2024 (CQAS), The Way We Burn (Ignite!), and HEARTACHE (Reckless Daughter). You may also recognize her from the poster for Boom Baby! Follow along @recklessdaughtercreative. Much love and gratitude to her partner Michelle.
Dylan Lindsay, Associate Producer, Assistant Director
Dylan Lindsay is an emerging theatre artist, exploring Technical Direction, Production, Sound Design and Creation, and other Tech Stuff About Town. They are based in Mohkintsis, and have been taking inspiration from the city to create evocative and prescient work. As a multidisciplinary artist, they enjoy creating an atmosphere that tells a story. Recent Sage Theatre productions include: Orange Dot, Drag Me to The Opera, Ignite Festival. Other projects they have recently worked on include Dolly Wiggler Cabaret (Calgary Animated Objects Society), and Method Prix (Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry).
Brad Leavitt, Set Design
For Sage, Brad designed “The Year of Magical Thinking.” After 40 years in the Calgary Theatre community, Brad has worked with most companies to some degree as a designer and prop builder, ATP, LATA, Calgary Opera, DSW and Rogue Theatre to name a few. Favorite designs Jesus Hopped the A Train, Lonestar, The Emigrants and Hello and Goodbye. Sometimes wandering onstage, Brad was recently blessed to play Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
Meet the Playwright
Natalie Meisner
Natalie Meisner is a poet and playwright who was born and raised on the Mi’kma’ki / South Shore of Nova Scotia and began her work in the indie theatre and spoken word poetry scenes of Halifax. After studying literature and theatre at Kings/ Dalhousie, she trained as an actor at the National Theatre School then headed west coast for a MFA in Creative Writing at UBC, and Ph.D at the University of Calgary. She has seven full length books in various genres, and served as Calgary/ Mohkinstsis’ 5th Poet Laureate. She is a wife, a mom to two great boys, and a full professor of creative writing at Mount Royal University where she loves helping other writers find their voice.
About the Pumphouse Theatre
For almost 50 years, The Pumphouse Theatre has been a home for Calgary’s emerging performing arts scene. In any given year more than a dozen companies will produce over 35 shows in the two theatres. The groups that perform at the Pumphouse Theatre range from large established companies to small up-and-coming artists collectives. Consequently, the shows produced here range from blockbuster musicals to Irish dramas to cutting-edge performance art as well as dance.
The Pumphouse Theatre is committed not only to providing a high-quality venue for the arts but also to keeping that venue affordable for Calgary’s arts community.
Production Partner
Later this season
Mary Stuart, By Dacia Maraini
April 21 – May 4, 2025
Motel Theatre
Directed by Javier Vilalta
Freely inspired by the work of Friedrich von Schiller, Dacia Maraini’s Mary Stuart depicts a confrontation between the Queen of Scotland and her cousin, Elizabeth I, Queen of England. But more than a historical drama, it is a conflict between two women that is at stake here. Mary Stuart envies the power her cousin holds; Elizabeth is jealous of the femininity of others. The conflict is also internal, because each person is in struggle with herself, struggling with dreams that thwart her ambitions.
From director Javier Vilalta: “What excites me most is to give two female performers the opportunity to showcase their talents in a staging where gender and politics are explored at length.” The cast includes Lauren Brotman and Norma Lewis.
IGNITE! Festival of Emerging Artists
June 2025
Every year in June, Sage Theatre presents the IGNITE! Festival of Emerging Artists – a multi-disciplinary, 4-day festival of emerging art and artists. It’s big, it’s bold, it’s beautiful! With about 100 artists programmed each year, IGNITE! is a fantastic development, networking, and presentation opportunity for Calgary’s artists.
IGNITE! is a festival dedicated to supporting, mentoring and presenting early career artists of all disciplines. IGNITE! allows artists to embrace risks in a supportive environment while providing resources, a bridge to the professional arts community, and meaningful opportunities for collaboration and community building with their peers.
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